The biological bases of learning and memory are being intensively studied. Progress is currently very rapid, and common mechanisms of information acquisition and storage are emerging from studies of synaptic plasticity and memory across invertebrate and vertebrate systems. This meeting will bring together senior researchers from the major areas of investigation, along with a large number of younger scientists, including many women, in several key areas of learning and memory research. Included will be work on memory and plasticity at the level of cells, molecules, and neural systems. The subsequent meetings (2005 and 2007) will follow a similar format and will include topics highly relevant to the current research at the time of the meeting.